Autobots, Transform!

"They actually caught him?" In the office, the restless Jiang Jin whipped around. "For real?" "I saw it with my own eyes over video. It's him. I'd recognize that kid if he were burned to ash!" Qi Qin assured him. "They said when they were grabbing the little girl, he walked right into their hands... Damn it, they took so long, I thought something had gone wrong." Jiang Jin could not help standing up. After pondering for a long time, pacing back and forth in the office, he gave a firm nod. "Very good. Ming did well this time." He pointed toward the burly man standing by the office door. The big man chuckled without speaking. Immediately, the old man continued, "Get yourselves ready. I'll get in touch with 'that side.' Once they arrive, hand him over immediately so nothing unexpected crops up. If this goes smoothly, none of you will lack for cash or perks, so put your backs into it! Bai Yi, you get ready too. Don't let that little bastard cook up any wicked tricks." "Understood, Boss." A rather gaunt man standing in the shadows cast by the corner light nodded. After making the call, Jiang Jin returned to his chair. Gazing out the window at the bustling traffic, he could no longer hold back a grin. If that kid really was a Celestial Conscript... then this time, he was striking it rich! Leaning back, he settled into a comfortable posture to admire the view of the bridge outside. Every time he sat like this, it felt as though all of Yacheng were right before his eyes. It was intoxicating. Although the elevated highway was right next to the building and constant traffic brought endless noise, the convenience of the transportation made up for it, connecting in every direction. If anything went wrong, escaping was quick and easy. Still, after today, he could consider moving to a better place. If he could snag that outsourced contract from the Security Bureau, he might even climb a step higher in the future... All of a sudden, however, he caught sight of a faint red light rising through the neon glow outside the window, drifting erratically. Like a bird. It soared through the night sky, drew closer, and peered inside through the window panes. It was a... "Drone?" Jiang Jin froze, instinctively sensing that something was wrong. But the camera drone—the one Ji Jue had swiped from Layla—rapidly pulled up into a climb. Clearing the way. Right after that, a shrill car horn rapidly swelled from soft to deafening—alongside two dazzling headlights! Out on the elevated highway just beyond the window, amidst the flow of traffic, a beat-up van suddenly accelerated. Its four tires spun furiously with a piercing screech, sparks practically flying from the rubber. In a snap turn and burst of speed, it plowed through the central guardrail, shot across the oncoming lanes, and kept going without losing momentum. Crushing the mangled barrier, its lifted front end cleared the edge of the overpass and launched! Just like an athlete clearing a hurdle, it vaulted with unbelievable agility. It whistled through midair! It hurtled toward the building looming in the night over a dozen meters away! The brilliant headlights blasted their high beams like the eyes of a monster, expanding through the glass, growing larger, larger, and larger still... "Run!" Jiang Jin didn't even have time to register whether the van looked familiar. By pure instinct, he turned on his heels and bolted. At the critical moment, his bodyguard Bai Yi reached out and grabbed him, moving with incredible swiftness, hauling him out of the office in an instant. Only Qi Qin stood frozen, staring blankly at the rapidly expanding beams of light. He instinctively raised a hand and cried out in despair, "Save—" *BOOM!* The floor-to-ceiling glass shattered, reduced by the impact of the van projectile into a violent rain showering in every direction. And that uninvited guest falling from the sky smashed head-on into the office! A crash! With crushing momentum, it pulverized the expensive rosewood desk, seemingly rolling right over someone in the process. A tire tore free, yet the sliding momentum still wouldn't stop, finally coming to a dead halt only after smashing through half a wall. Dust and dense smoke swirled through the air. Once the deafening crash died down, only the sound of singing echoed through the dead silence. It came from the van's radio—a cheerful, celebratory tune. Singing of a beautiful life, a splendid future! Outside the door, Jiang Jin's face twitched. Before he could make sense of what had happened, his gaze was drawn to the blood-soaked face trapped beneath the undercarriage. Qi Qin was vomiting mouthfuls of blood, struggling to reach out to him, his lips parting and closing. It looked as though he was begging for something. Right then, a boot planted itself on his face and ground down. With a sharp crack, silence fell. "Please don't be afraid, everyone! We are peace-loving Autobots!" Through the swirling smoke, a young face faintly emerged, introducing himself with boundless enthusiasm. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. I came here today specially to take you all to Cybertron to celebrate New Year's, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and wrap dumplings together~!" *Bang!* Before they could react, lethal, blazing gunfire erupted from the clearing smoke. In a split second, dozens of fiery streaks seemed to blossom out of nowhere, piercing through the smoke and dust as they whistled forward! In Lu Feng's hands was a Defender Type 9 submachine gun—an urban combat weapon highly praised by the Federation, the Empire, and even terrorists alike: rugged, durable, stable, and reliable. Nine-millimeter caliber, modified forty-five-round magazine. Holding the trigger down tight, at a point-blank range that was practically cheek-to-cheek on any battlefield, he emptied the entire magazine in less than three seconds! Amidst the rapid, continuous clatter, Lu Feng swept his muzzle, locking relentlessly onto the scurrying silhouettes. All Ji Jue could hear was a flurry of wails and shrieks. Out in the hallway, the lackeys who hadn't even figured out what was happening fell cleanly to the floor before they could poke their heads out, like wheat bowing before a gale. Lu Feng had already tossed aside the spent submachine gun. Reaching behind his back, he drew another one and pulled the trigger! With his left hand, he fished a stun grenade from his pocket, expertly biting off the pin before rolling it along the floor. The stun grenade tumbled, bounced off the corner of the wall outside, and rolled into a blind spot before detonating with a deafening blast, offering the surviving scum a fresh dose of shock and delight. "Kill him! Kill him!" Shielded by his men, Jiang Jin roared and snarled, his eyes bulging with rage. Right in front of him, a burly man spread his arms wide. Shielding Jiang Jin, he stepped directly in front of Lu Feng's muzzle. He absorbed over sixty percent of the bullets all on his own! His skin had turned silvery-white like metal, sharp metallic barbs and prisms sprouting from within his body to coat his exterior, forming a heavy suit of armor. And across his most vulnerable face, a hideous ghost mask emerged! Metallization! He was a Celestial Chosen of the Path of the Desolate Ruins. Though his matrix remained unknown, his rank was definitely higher than Ji Jue's. Ordinary bullets striking his body couldn't pierce that defense, which easily surpassed any body armor! Granted, he couldn't hold a candle to Sister Wen—or so Ji Jue wanted to say, but having witnessed the terrifying massacre when she fought, he understood all the more the horrifying gulf between himself and her. An opponent who wasn't even worth a hair to her was more than enough to slaughter him hundreds of times over! "Feng! Stun grenades, don't stop!" Ji Jue shouted. The flash and shockwave earlier had clearly left the opponent temporarily disoriented and stunned. Since he was already locked down, keep him locked down until he was dead! Lu Feng understood this principle far better than Ji Jue. Striding forward over the pool of blood and spent casings, having emptied his submachine gun, he drew the Annihilator shotgun from his back. Spraying from its muzzle were slug rounds specially prepared for high-defense targets like this! Thunderous booms rang out without pause. With every shell ejected, a massive dent appeared in the burly man's armor. Deformed fragments either ricocheted away or embedded themselves deep into the plate. The terrifying concussive force actually shoved him backward, sliding across the floor! "Bai Yi—!" the Celestial Chosen beneath the ghost mask rasped. Outside the office, amidst the devastation, the Celestial Chosen who had dragged Jiang Jin into a corner finally let out a breath. Turning back, he raised a hand to his lips and blew a silent whistle. Beneath the flickering lights, shadows boiled. Those shadows squirmed, gathered, and contracted, solidifying into a bizarre, writhing monster with six legs and eight arms. Weightless and airy, it charged straight for Lu Feng. Bullets tore massive holes right through it, but the shadow beast's wounds instantly sealed back up. Aside from expending a sliver of spiritus, it was virtually unharmed! Seeing his attack fail, Lu Feng immediately looked away, focusing entirely on suppressing the ghost-masked Celestial Chosen before him. He didn't spare it another glance! Meanwhile, in the office behind him, without Ji Jue even needing to wave, the steel creation that had long grown impatient pounced forward as well! The Little Sheep scooter that usually acted like a hound leapt into the air. In midair, its shell split apart, countless mechanical modules grinding and shifting. Before its spin even ended, it transformed into an unrecognizable dragon-blood monster, roaring at the top of its lungs! Even if its roar sounded no different from a vehicle horn, it couldn't let its presence be outdone. Just like that, it collided with the shadow beast that feared no piercing blows. Crashing down from midair, the shadow beast convulsed and hissed silently, whipping out limbs that tangled and sharpened into blades, looking ready to rip it to shreds in an instant. But right after, ear-splitting friction squealed, and sparks flew! Perhaps Lawrence was right: the Path of the Desolate Ruins was matter itself, the trail left behind by dragons. The Little Niuma infused with dragon blood might look like a plastic scooter, but the sturdiness of its frame had already surpassed many special alloys in the world! Even if it crashed head-on into a fully loaded Nanfeng heavy truck, it could punch a scooter-shaped hole straight through it! Of course, whether Ji Jue survived riding atop it at that moment would be an entirely different matter... Right now, Little Niuma was in its strongest, driverless form. For the sake of the unlimited chicken leg feast Ji Jue had promised, it had gone completely berserk! Chicken legs: awesome! Unlimited chicken legs: unlimited awesome! Amidst the ceaseless blare of its sharp horn, its five sharp claws tore and scratched with frenzy, dragging the shadow beast around, slamming, devouring, and gnawing at it. A spiritus shadow beast that ordinary matter could hardly damage was now showing panic and terror under the tearing bites of that massive maw. Its destroyed limbs and body actually couldn't regenerate?! "Fuck your mother!" Ming Yan, the armored Celestial Chosen, roared amidst the relentless barrage from the shotgun. Fighting through the dizziness inflicted by the continuous stun grenades, the steel crystals across his body abruptly surged once more, forming a massive shield over his bent arm that broke and repaired itself in an endless cycle. Bracing the heavy shield before him, he pushed forward step by step against the hammering slugs, closing in on Lu Feng. The grin on the ghost mask grew increasingly savage. Yet at that moment, Lu Feng lowered his muzzle. Without hesitation, he tossed aside the shotgun whose barrel was nearly glowing red, and raised both hands. "Feng, ready." The moment Ji Jue's voice came through the earpiece, Lu Feng dropped to his knees, clutched his head, and touched his elbows to the floor with practiced, seamless grace, looking like someone bowing before gods and Buddhas... It was a textbook, infuriatingly perfect artillery-shelter duck-and-cover!